Metinvest registers 39 percent decrease in crude steel output in Q1

Ukrainian mining and steel producing group Metinvest has announced that in the first quarter of 2015 its crude steel production decreased by 39 percent year on year to 1.67 million mt. In addition, in the given quarter Metinvest also produced 7.45 million mt of iron ore concentrate, down 16 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the first quarter, the coal concentrate production of Metinvest decreased by 31 percent year on year to 846,000 mt.
 
In the January-March period, Metinvest's output of hot metal decreased by 37 percent year on year to 1.75 million mt due to unstable supplies of raw materials at its subsidiary Azovstal as a result of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the complete shutdown from February 7 to March 16 at Yenakiieve Steel.
 
In the given quarter, the group's output of finished products decreased by 37 percent to 1.24 million mt compared to the corresponding quarter of 2014.